1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to Internet technology. More particularly, the present invention is related to a system and method for parental control of Internet Web sites viewed by a child in a network environment.
2. Description
Web sites accessible via the Internet contain all sorts of content. Some of the content may not be desirable for children. To prevent children from browsing undesirable Web content, some browsers enable the filtering of undesirable Internet content by enabling children to only browse from a selected list of Web sites.
Parental monitoring services also exist that provide a database on the home computer that is maintained by a service provider subscribed to by the parent. The service provider keeps track of acceptable Web sites for children. Web sites inappropriate for children are excluded from the database. The database is periodically updated by the service provider.
New Web sites are added to the Internet on a daily basis. Often times the parental monitoring service may not be aware of the new Web sites that are acceptable for children for weeks or months. Also, these services do not allow the parent to make their own discretionary choices as well as to add or subtract from the database in real-time the Web sites available to their children. Thus, new acceptable Web sites may or may not be included in the database for weeks or months.
Thus, what is needed is a system and method for enabling a parent to have first-view rights as to what their child is trying to access on the Internet in real-time. What is also needed is a system and method that allows the parent to approve or deny access to a child's Web site request prior to the child's ability to browse the Web site. What is further needed is a system and method that allows the parent to investigate links associated with the child's requested Web site, thereby allowing the child access to an acceptable Web site, yet preventing the child from viewing links that include undesirable content.